Desserts

We are officially on holidays and couldn’t be happier; sitting here sipping my coffee and homemade Baileys, anticipating the days to come and reflecting on the amazing year that was had. It’s these simple moments before the day begins that I really want to savour more often. The calmness and joy that comes from sitting and enjoying a cup of java rather than rushing out the door with a cup in hand. And with the holidays amongst us, your regular cup of joe can become much more festive with this quick and easy clean Irish Cream.

For the last two years, I have been loving my homemade Coconut Baileys Irish Cream, but this year wanted to try a recipe that didn’t involve stove time and one that was a bit lighter on the calories. Here comes my newest version, Almond Coconut Irish Cream.

It’s healthier, cleaner, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, vegan friendly and pretty amazing in my opinion. It’s easy to double or triple the recipe and makes for a great gift giving idea too!

It’s October! Which means we’ve entered the blitz of pumpkin everything and there are no complaints here.

As new products hit the shelves, I am easily intrigued by all the new variations of Fall. Pumpkin has literally taken over the grocery aisles and I’m suddenly set for all things Fall. I’ll be perfectly honest when I say that I love me some good ol’ pumpkin spice – the famous PSL, tasty pumpkin ales (or not so tasty lol), and every type of pumpkin dessert imaginable. I do my best in keeping up with the pumpkins. 🙂 And best yet, I have been experimenting at home, which usually brings an even better version of the things we love without the fake pumpkin flavour and extra sugar!

Peaches are a summer favourite when it comes to fruit, especially Niagara peaches; nothing else quite compares. And every so often I like to spice things up by throwing peach halves right on to the grill – which is a real treat! Grilled peaches are the perfect way to jazz up a weekend brunch/breaky or if you want to impress guests with a sweet and smoky dessert.

I like to keep mine simple with a light drizzle of pure maple syrup as the peaches are the real winning treat already. However, if you are looking for something super delicious and indulgent, grilled peaches topped with your favourite type of ice or whip cream is the way to go! I personally love them topped with Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss “Naked Coconut” – YUM!

Also, another favourite dish for grilled peaches when looking to use them as part of your main dish, is to pair your grilled peaches with ricotta, basil and a drizzle of EVO and your favourite balsamic vinegar (see here my spin on the classic Caprese).

For more of my favourite items to grill – check out my post Grill On and please share what you’re grilling up this summer! #delsdish #delsgrill

For the love of coconut, when a friend of mine shared this muffin recipe I literally went bananas. How did I not think of this sweet little treat sooner, however within hours I was baking my own batch. Warm from the oven, I knew these would be a household winner. And sure’y, they were!

A twist on a traditional banana muffin, these are sweet and bright, delectably comforting and easy peasy to make! They are my new go to muffin recipe and I’ll be sure to experiment ways to make them more coconutty. 🙂

Coconut Banana Muffins (yields 12-18)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup earth balance buttery spread or unsalted butter, melted

1 cup cane sugar

2 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 375°. Line muffin cups with paper muffin liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut in a large bowl until combined well.

And I’m happy to say many of my friends are like minded when it comes to food, lifestyle, interests and health. We spend A LOT of our time exchanging views, best practices, hidden gems and favourite recipes. With that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share their best ideas. 🙂

Which leads me to introduce, my friend Kieran Darcy, who I’m thrilled to say will guest blog with some of her favourite dish’s, along with some of her beautiful photography. You’ll quickly notice, her skills are much better than mine (she is a very talented photographer) and gets it right every time. Please check out more of her amazing work here.

Kieran had my mouth watering when she first told me about her Raw Key Lime Pie recipe. And with each week she had a new variation to share and that’s when I knew I had to have her dish about it!

Without further ado, here’s Kieran’s Dish –

A few months ago I decided to make a key lime pie for my dad’s birthday. I don’t know why, but I’m glad I did. I started googling ‘raw key lime pie’ to find something that would suit his celiac & diabetic needs and came upon this. The amazing thing about this recipe is that it’s really just a launching pad for any dessert you want to make. For any of you who don’t like following instructions or baking, this is the dessert for you.

Let’s take a moment and appreciate the fact that the main ingredient in this dessert is cashews. Maybe I’m just ignorant, but I had no idea what they were capable of. Sorry cashews, I underestimated you. Since mastering the key lime pie I have adapted the recipe to make pumpkin, chocolate-orange, chocolate-raspberry, and lemon pies. With the lemon pie I added some Astarte blueberry-lavender preserve to each slice when serving – Sooo good!

This dessert has become a staple for every family gathering and I get to pretend I’m a really great baker when all I’ve done is blended. Easy, healthy, and delicious. I will say that attaining all of the ingredients is a bit pricey but you won’t need to buy them every time. So take this recipe and make whatever you want with it. Cover it in nuts, fruit, add peanut butter, make different flavour layers, increase the crust measurements…Do whatever you want.

Raw Key Lime Pie

Crust:

1 cup dried dates

½ cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped

½ cup whole pecans, coarsely chopped

¼ cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Pinch of sea salt

Filling (Key Lime):

2 cups cashews

¾ cup fresh lime juice

½ cup maple syrup

⅓ cup melted coconut oil

1 tsp matcha powder (optional for color only)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Put all the crust ingredients into a food processor, and process until the ingredients can just stick together.

Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9­inch pie dish

Place all the filling ingredients in your high-speed blender or food processor and blend until the filling is completely smooth and creamy.

Pour the filling evenly over the pie crust, smooth with a spatula.

Place the pie in the freezer covered to set for at least 3 hours, or overnight if possible.

Let the pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and garnish before serving. I used coconut and lime zest on the Key Lime variation.